I've never written a blog before. Or set up a photography website for that matter. So although the whole thing is a bit nerve wracking, it does mean I don't have to look far for a topic for my first blog post. So here goes...

Taking photos makes me happy and I've always enjoyed writing so this should be easy, right? Actually I hope it's not because big part of this project is about challenging myself. I want to be a very good photographer, which is motivation in itself, but just in case I get lazy I figure that putting my work up for public scrutiny will push me in pursuit of improvement. It's true that most people are their own harshest critic, but I reckon that the general public comes a close second. Hopefully I'll get some feedback and advice through this website as well.

So what else is driving this project other than the challenge? I want to be honest here, so pride and perhaps even vanity must have a part to play. If I didn't think that the images I've put up were in some way good, if I wasn't proud of them, then I wouldn't share them. I like it when people say nice things about my work. Who doesn't? Does this count as vanity? On reflection I would say not. It has taken a long time but I have recently realised that accepting a complement with a 'thank you' doesn't make you conceited! That's not to say I'm not vain in some way. I think that everyone has at least a little vanity about some aspect of themselves.

At the same time as wanting to share my photos, I initially felt profoundly uncomfortable about it. It has taken me a long time to actually do this and after running out of excuses I had to look at why I was stalling it. The first thing I put it down to was fear. Fear of what? To start with I thought it was fear of failure, but in what sense can I fail here? My aim is only to share images and improve my photography. Although it would be great to sell some work, it's not as if my livelihood depends on it. I'm not trying to become an acclaimed artist or award-winning photographer. So fear of failure it is not. Fear of criticism? Definitely! At least to start with anyway. But then it's all down to individual tastes and we all like different things so when you create something there will always be people who don't like it. So I got over that pretty quick. In the end it came down to confidence. One of the biggest steps I've taken was to can the self-doubt. Who was I worried about not being good enough for? I don't even know! At the end of the day I am no fine artist but I think that I shoot honest images that some people will enjoy looking at. Why not let me know what you think of them?

So here concludes ramblings #1. See you next time!